Topic

Why are quilts so expensive?


Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Home Forums Gear Forums Gear (General) Why are quilts so expensive?

  • This topic is empty.
Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #1279237
    Justin Baker
    BPL Member

    @justin_baker

    Locale: Santa Rosa, CA

    Every quilt I have seen is way out of my price range. I would figure that a quilt would be much easier to make than a bag. Does this mostly have to with independent makers being the exclusive makers out there? I know that would drive up the price, but still!
    It seems like a relatively easy DIY project, so I have no reason to not attempt it myself. I just want something simple.
    Do you think quilts will ever break into the mainstream?

    #1778656
    Robert Cowman
    BPL Member

    @rcowman

    Locale: Canadian Rockies

    thermarest alpine comfortor, golite quilts, the entire big agnes line… all mainstream store bought versions of the backpacking quilt. the reason their expensive is because of the materials used. 800+ down and pertex quantum and GL fabrics. there are quilts in the $120ish-$200 range out there. also most of them are made in the USA. making the labor cost 900% higher than being made overseas.

    #1778659
    Justin Baker
    BPL Member

    @justin_baker

    Locale: Santa Rosa, CA

    The golite 3 season quilt is listed as $275 on the main site, but is selling for 150-160 on othes sites. I guess that is the synthetic version. Not a horrible price.

    #1778661
    William Johnson
    Member

    @steamboat_willie

    There have been some well documented DIY quilt projects here, and I'd encourage you to make one of your own, even if it involves cutting up an old sleeping bag.

    I would not call a DIY quilt "relatively easy" if you've never worked with down filling before. Yikes!

    #1778674
    j lan
    Member

    @justaddfuel

    Locale: MN

    Get a prodigy from enlightened equipment –
    http://enlightenedequipment.webs.com/prodigy.htm

    Hand made by tim marshall from this site, the warmest quilt goes for $205 and is pretty light for being synthetic insulation. That being said, I got my Golite ultra 20 directly from golite for $180 a couple years ago and you can find quilts way cheaper here, barely used.

    #1778746
    James holden
    BPL Member

    @bearbreeder-2

    Most arent made by big manufacturers

    Those that are u can find on clearence quite a bit

    Pricing rarely has much to do with material amount but rather demand and perceived value

    Witness lingerie ;)

    #1778754
    Terry Trimble
    Member

    @socal-nomad

    Locale: North San Diego county

    The reason Quilts or other ultralite weight gear is expensive is because of exotic materials used. A synthetic quilt will cost about $60.00 to $80.00 for material if you cant buy in large bulk from the manufactures.
    It take you about 4 to 6 hard working hours to finish. So you have a quilt that sells for $150.00 that has $60.00 in material and $90.00 left for labor so the person is only making $15.00 a hour and he or she has family to support. I would say $15.00 a hour is pretty cheap labor for a quality product made in the USA.Plus sewing everyday gets to be a drag and hard labor compared to a sales job.
    Terry

    #1778791
    Elliott Wolin
    BPL Member

    @ewolin

    Locale: Hampton Roads, Virginia

    Synthetic quilts are easy to sew and pretty cheap. Check out kits at RayWay products, or purchase the materials yourself at e.g. Outdoor Wilderness Fabrics. It just takes a few hours cutting and sewing time to whip one out, I've made three so far, and more are coming. Plans are not too hard to find, and the exact design is not critical.

    And they are even cheaper if you can find a closeout on lightweight uncoated nylon or synthetic insulation.

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Get the Newsletter

Get our free Handbook and Receive our weekly newsletter to see what's new at Backpacking Light!

Gear Research & Discovery Tools


Loading...